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used <br />•to protect higher value natural resources. Also included in this zone are <br />lineal <br />corridors that link the higher quality natural areas together and provide <br />space <br />for the proposed city -wide greenway trail corridor. <br />Currently, development in the high ecological value zone is allowed in <br />accordance with development requirements as stipulated by city codes and <br />ordinances. Beyond these regulatory requirements, the ecological values <br />of <br />these lands are not substantively protected. In addition, land ownership <br />rights <br />and economic development pressures preclude the possibility of <br />arbitrarily <br />limiting development in this zone. Given this, fostering a conservation <br />approach to development is the most advantageous way of preserving the <br />key <br />ecological values in this zone while at the same time allowing <br />development to <br />proceed in an economically viable fashion. <br />Ecological Enhancement Zone: This zone refers to areas of the city that <br />fall <br />outside the other two zones. Typically, this includes lands that are <br />411 defined <br />under agriculture designation and thus do not currently exhibit high <br />ecological <br />value, but offer opportunities for significant ecological enhancements as <br />part <br />of future land use decisions. An example of this is transitioning some <br />agriculture fields into prairie communities as part of a conservation <br />development. Also included under this zone are areas already developed, <br />such as a residential subdivision, where ecological enhancements are <br />still <br />possible, albeit perhaps on a more limited basis. <br />The main objective of this zone is to articulate that the opportunities <br />to <br />expand the footprint of high quality natural areas, and thus the greenway <br />system, within the city are very extensive and that sound ecological <br />protection <br />strategies should not be limited only to areas that currently exhibit <br />higher <br />ecological qualities. Quite to the contrary, under the mantra of a <br />conservation <br />development approach to planning, protecting and enhancing the ecological <br />values of all lands should be considered whenever development occurs in <br />•the <br />community. Further, every attempt should be made to link these newly <br />flapar &J'expeanovJ3oapS_ Xzr-ogLAzvo_laxeo- <br />